Throughout 2025, Sampad have been very lucky in working with a brilliant group of interns. Recently we caught up with Summaya Mehmood to hear more about her experience.
I discovered this internship through my university, and it was exactly what I was looking for: I was seeking to do meaningful work that fulfilled my interests in the arts and culture but also gave me valuable experience for the future. Working with Sampad allowed me to utilise my own creativity, as well as showing me how that creativity can be organised and used for communal good.
Thus, my time with Sampad was incredibly fulfilling and informative. It gave me an insight into the hard work and the many efforts put in by every person on the Sampad team to put on wonderful events for the community.
Participating in events like the Midday Mantra, Midsummer Masti and the Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty concert, I got to experience a little bit of everything: organisation and ensuring the events run smoothly, grabbing content for the marketing team and most importantly, interacting with the eventgoers and getting feedback which allows the team to understand how to connect with audiences. I truly was unaware of the many moving parts and backstage chaos that is behind a great show, therefore I gained better understanding of management.
I also got to see the process behind the events and the careful consideration the Sampad team have for the local communities, especially in their work with women’s groups across Birmingham which have a positive impact on the attendee’s mental health. The communal feel of these groups creates a safe and positive space for women who oftentimes do not have any other third spaces.
My most treasured experience was the Summer School, which was what initially drew me in. Sampad took on board intern ideas for the activities which made me feel heard and allowed me to have first-hand experience on developing an activity, from sourcing the material to doing the activity with the children.
I got to use my own artistic experience and cultural background on creating fun activities: decorating candles with mehndi and diya lamps as items the children could take away from the Summer School to reminisce about. The children were incredibly excited for mehndi on their hands.
It was very rewarding to watch their hard work in learning a performance which included drama, dance and costumes and they executed it perfectly on the day of the performance, opening the show with fun and joy. I think I was more nervous about their performance than they were! Overall, Midsummer Masti was a sold-out, fantastic event.
I am very grateful to Gillian and Naomi for their support throughout the entire internship and everyone at the Sampad team for being so welcoming. I walk away from this experience with useful knowledge and good memories. I hope I get to work with Sampad again in the future!
Thank you to Summaya and our 2025 interns for their wonderful work. If you are interested in volunteering or interning with Sampad we would love to hear from you. Get in touch at learning@sampad.org.uk.